One of my fondest memories of TF 2 was one of those overhead stages that, I recall, was loaded with these webs or dots or something that you had to shoot to make a path through (contact was fatal, of course). However, because of your ship's speed and handling, you had to (as you mention) constantly turn around for a second before going back. Adding to the fun was how things seemed to respawn quickly in these levels, so the simple act of shooting through those barriers (of whatever they were) turned into this painful ordeal. Made worse by all the actual enemies buzzing around.

Seeing such a low score was surprising, especially when Zero Wing scored higher. I feel that this score is overly critical for what was, for me, an early title for the Sega Genesis along with Forgotten Worlds and Altered Beast. Playing this was amazing, for its time, and it was rivaled in Nostalgia only by Herzog Zwei.

I have fond memories of beating this and it stands at the heights with Guardian Legend, Blaster Master, Grandia, Granada, R-Type, and Gradius, in my shooter library. These games were not all great, but the effect they made upon my being will be remembered fondly.

Just wanted to give an opinion, because the review is so well written that most would read it and instantly agree with all points, even if they had played the game in question.

Not sure how to make a sig? While logged into your account, you can edit it and your other public and private information from the Settings page.

The Zero Wing wasnít written by me. Iíll happily admit Iíve not played that any further than the first stage, so Iíll refrain from commenting on the score.

Frankly, I would love do nothing more than delete the second half of the review and more than double the score, but those overhead sections make the bulk of the game and are truly awful. Perhaps Iím spoilt by playing the titles in reverse order and by seeing the positive evolution the series took once it dropped those clumsy stages, but itís silly to ignore that this game is effectively sabotaged by them.

Of those shooters you named, I reviewed R-Type a few years back and gave it a 9 that I still stand firmly behind. Iím not a believer that games should be reviewed as if we were stuck in some weird time vortex where theyíre still cutting edge day-one releases; the difference for me is that while R-Type still remains a great (if not frustrating) play, Thunder Force 2 is torture.

Still, I donít blame you for not agreeing with the evaluation or the score -- people on this siteís staff are in disagreement with my review, too. Nor do I blame your reaction. Not long ago, I would have baulked at the thought of anyone low-reviewing one of my most nostalgically treasured shooter titles, Xenon 2. Then I replayed it and found that now matter how good it was back in the day, itís an aged, obsolete title now that I wish Iíd not revisited.

Props on the Herzog Zwei love, too. I still love that game. Thanks for reading my review of the game, and for taking the time to comment.